End of June Financial Round Up

As I hoped for at the end of May,  June was a low-ish spend month, with only one known extra which was the Council garden waste bin at £64 for the year - up £2 from last year. Other garden spending was £4 for squash and sweetcorn plants from car-boot sales after my fails and forgotten sowings.

The regular every month expenses are Council Tax, phone and broadband, charity donation and electric bill, they totalled just over £300 this month.

House expenses included £10 for the window cleaner again - I'm sure he appears more often than every  6 weeks when the weather's good! and dish washer cleaner (Asda's own brand is 98p compared to Finish at £2.98) I like to use this on the very hot wash cycle every six months or so.

 I picked up the washing up bowl in the kitchen by it's rim, which snapped right off giving me a nasty - but thankfully small, cut on my finger. I had no idea a plastic washing-up bowl could be dangerous! It went out to the bin before it attacked me again and a new one for £6 from our local hardware shop was quickly bought.

There was the unexpected £20 for Car Tax renewal as mentioned earlier in the month and I topped up the car up with diesel just once this month = £36

I finally got to the Hospice shop in Stowmarket to leave a donation ( for the mug gift) and while in town bought a bag of sunflower hearts for the birds - only feeding these at the moment as they can go in a starling proof feeder.

Car-boot finds of 3 birthday and 6  Christmas cards totalled £1.40 - buying some cheap means I can do a little to support a couple of artists when I buy other cards at art exhibitions.  The little plate for next spring was 30p plus this pretty tin of notelets for £1.50 which will make a gift or a raffle price at Over 60's group when it's my turn to take one.

Personal spending included exercise group, the  trip to cinema was £10 including car parking, a jigsaw puzzle and one second hand book when an  Angela Thirkell book popped up cheap on Amazon at last. There are still a couple I've not got or read but they are way over ten pounds. 

I stocked up on a couple of bottles of shampoo and also got paracetamol and antiseptic cream for the 'medicine cupboard'  from Superdrug and final spending was for a haircut.

 Mid month I looked online to see if any Josef Siebel slip-ons that I wear indoors all the time were in any sales. There are lots of shoes I can't wear due to wide feet and needing arch supports in flatter shoes but these I can wear with no pain. I found some for £30 less than full price. So ordered them ready for when I need them.

 We now suddenly have a Josef Siebel shoe shop in Stowmarket, which was a surprise, until I discovered Josef Siebel is the new name for Shoephoric, which is what is was before, so I will be looking out for their sales as well as online.

[Also have a large East Anglian Children's Hospice Charity Shop about to open in one of the old banks - very good news and an M&S Food Hall in the Autumn - Stowmarket getting posh at last!]

Whatever I do I can't seem to get food spending down to the frugalist of frugal bloggers/vloggers. Some don't seem to spend much on fruit - I do. This time of year I'm buying nectarines as well as my apple-a-day. Some people are able to go shopping frequently and find yellow sticker bargains, or Lidl cheap boxes or those too-good-to-go pick up bags from supermarkets.  I can't do any of those things because it's too many miles and we just don't get the bargains that are available in bigger town stores.

A few penny pinching notes from June.

•  Few strawberries from my plants each day early in the month. 
• Then  raspberries (until I discovered that the dry weather had made their seeds really hard and they were upsetting my stomach which is Most Annoying)
• As usual dishwasher only used every other day 
• and washing machine mostly only twice a week.
• Another large cauliflower from boot sale for £1 - fed me for several days.
• Very Big bundle of beetroot from boot sale for £2
• Reading library books for free.
• Home made bread from the bread-machine (I worked out a 400g 50/50 white /wholemeal loaf costs  just under 50p) 
• Eggs still £2 a dozen from farm gate stall
• Tumble dryer not used all month
• No flowers, jewellery, make up etc bought
• Free physio appointment and then free exercise and arthritis management 6 week course
• First of the climbing French beans - they were delicious.
• First courgettes
• First cucumbers
• Two Vileda mop heads for £2

Looking ahead to July and again there is only one known extra - the virus protection for the laptop and it's the month when I get two State pension payments(because of it being paid every four weeks). So I should be able to move a good chunk into savings.

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